The future of two local school bond measures may have brightened Thursday when the latest vote update was released by the Fresno County Elections Office.

Clovis Unified’s Measure A and Sanger Unified’s Measure M had ended Tuesday night under the 55% threshold required for passage. Clovis was within 25 votes and Sanger was 69 votes short.

But the latest update, including vote by mail and ballots deposited Tuesday in drop boxes, apparently had more yes than no votes for each measure.

The $400 million Measure A now stands at 55.47% approval, and the $175 million Measure M at 55.66% approval.

Thursday’s vote update is preliminary and subject to more updates and certification by the Fresno County Elections Office before it is final.

The next update will be by 5 p.m. Tuesday followed by another update at 5 p.m. Nov. 15. Nearly 100,000 ballots remain to be counted.

Clovis Unified Race Tightens

The update showed that one School Board race has tightened.

Molly DeFrank maintained her slim lead in the Clovis Unified Area 2 race, with 40.83% of the vote. DeFrank, an author and mother, hopes to replace her husband, David, who did not seek reelection to the seat.

Wilma Tom Hashimoto, head of CASA of Fresno and Madera Counties, has 40.32%, and retired teacher Janet Kardashian has 18.63%. Only 52 votes separate DeFrank and Hashimoto.

An incumbent and a challenger in two Fresno Unified School Board races maintained their leads, according to Thursday’s update.

Andy Levine, a Fresno State lecturer seeking his first full term in the Fresno High region, had 44.46% of the vote. Challengers James Martinez, general manager of Fresno State’s ASI, had 28.36%, and Emma Villa, a special education advocate, had 26.87%.

Martinez, who gave up his seat on the Fresno County School Board and had substantial campaign financing from union sources, was only 143 votes ahead of Villa, who entered the race close to the filing deadline and spent less than $2,000 on her campaign.

In the Hoover region race, challenger Dan Bordona maintained his lead over incumbent Claudia Cazares, who was seeking her third term. Bordona, a retired FUSD teacher, has 50.98% while Cazares, a city of Clovis analyst, has 48.78%. Bordona was leading by 210 votes.

Measure Q Still Losing

Measure Q, the $698 million bond measure for State Center Community College District, is still failing to reach the 55% threshold. Vote totals had not been updated by 5 p.m. in Madera and Tulare counties, but with updated totals in Fresno and Kings counties, the measure has 53.58% approval. Like school bonds, the community college bond measure requires 55% approval to pass.